photo credit: Taylor Dean Wilson

SHIFT will return in April 2010. Watch this space for more details.

SHIFT : SOY's photography project, in partnership with Gallery 44. Facilitated by Chris Ironside, this is a project for queer and trans youth who are interested in learning about photography, camera operation, darkroom printing, and creative expression.
This year’s program enjoyed three exhibits – at Gallery 44, at SOY’s Fruit Loopz Pride Youth Festival, and finally, in November, at the O’Connor Gallery.  In addition, SHIFT photographs were featured on SOY’s annual holiday card, as well as on a series of cards sold at the final exhibit and presented as a gift to all SOY’s volunteers.

Facilitator bio:
Chris Ironside is a Toronto based artist working in photography and drawing. He obtained his Specialized Honours BA from the University of Guelph in 1996 and his MFA from York University in 2002, and teaches photography in the Department of Fine Arts at both of these universities. His current body of work, "Mr. Long Weekend", continues his investigation into representations of masculine ideals and their shift from the real to the hyper-real through performance, documentation and the staged image. His work has been exhibited in Canada and in the United States .
 
The O'Connor Award: At the Shift exibit in November 2007, Gallery owner Dennis O’Connor was so impressed with the vitality and success of the SHIFT program that  he created the annual O’Connor Award, presented to a peer-nominated SHIFT member, who exhibits the most team spirit and artistic promise